HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Outside of tennis legends and sisters Venus and Serena Williams and Jamaican sprint superstars Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake, has there ever been a pair of world class-level rivals in any sport who have trained together at the height of their powers?

Athletes in other sports have done it, challenging each other to get better during the offseason and sharing tips. But rarely, if ever, have we seen anything like what’s going on in Akron, Ohio right now, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.

But for the second straight summer, Miami Heat star and MVP LeBron James and NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant have hooked up for a week of workouts (Hell Week II?) in preparation for the upcoming season.

While some people might cringe at the idea of these two combatants working together (lest we forget, they were teammates all summer on the U.S. Men’s Senior National Team that won a gold medal at the Olympics in London), this is a breath of fresh air here at the hideout.

You couldn’t have competed any harder than James and Durant did against one another in The Finals, with James and his Heat team prevailing in June. They joined forces in London and proved to be a dynamic and devastating duo against some of the best the rest of the world had to offer. And we have no doubts that they’ll crank right back up this season battling for NBA supremacy from the start of training camp until the final buzzer of the 2012-13 season.

But not everyone is as accepting of this sort of pairing. Some folks, even a stray voice or two here at the hideout, are not as comfortable with this training set up, even if is just one week.

i think people are confused when they say that they are training together. when they’re training its not just one on one basketball and going against one another its mostly conditioning drills i live in akron, oh and i think from them playing one on one they really wouldnt gain as much benefit from it. i mean think about it if your kevin durant all you would have to do would shoot over lebron and if your lebron all you would have to do would post kevin up so i think they focus on basically everything else in their game, like actual post moves, conditioning, and shooting drills rather than who can beat who one on one.

Also, to those of you saying how can friends compete against each other and be aggressive. Don’t you guys watch MMA? A lot of these guys train together and end up fighting in the cage/ring and they’re still friends afterwards. It’s not that big of a deal.

at this level both have moves for every situation!.. its just a matter of the ball going in or out!! so concerns about stealing moves is not an issue! only thing that will separate them is how (techniques) they train and how hard each individual trains!… they play the same position so they want to know every possible drill and work out routine of each other! and at their level the only way they would improve is to go against the best! so “the best trains against the best” “STEEL SHARPENS STEEL!” as they say! im all for it! jus when game time comes GO BALLS OUT! (if nething lbj is giving up his training routines)

Let’s suppose two brothers both playing in the NBA (that has happened, right? Th Barrys f’rinstance). Before playing in the NBA these guys would go at it day in and day out. When the league goes on holiday and they’re back home, what do they do? Go at it. The fact that two consumate professionals choose to pactice together is nothing new and when they’re two intelligent guys nothing is lost : they know they can only help each other get better and they’re fully aware that when push come to shove they’ll be there in full respect of the fans, the game, their team and each other. They’ll be relentless and that’s what we want.

they are weight training…that’s different from skill set training…they aren’t working on new cross-overs…they are working on their agility, stability, strength, and taking game situation shots…they aren’t playing one-on-one every day…they are doing whatever resistance training top athletes do to remain top athletes…did any of you watch last years footage?…

I don’t see what the big deal is. Having them train together was a brilliant executive decision!
Da Rant and LB are professionals (aka entrepreneurs) … they can separate the difference between personal and business. Personal is training together to unleash their competitive nature and bring growth. Business is stepping on the wood to mesmerize their fans while earning their paychecks.

Maybe not in the next few years, but in 5 maybe 6 years, I can see these guys playing together. They both want to win, and we know Lebron will be out of Miami in a couple years. If OKC loses Harden, their chances of keeping Durant are slim. Hands down they want to win, and those two together would be unstoppable.

As I’m sure a few of you have seen the videos from their workouts together last year, they’re not playing one-on-one for hours on end in a gym! LJ and KD are doing 50% resistance&conditioning training and then 50% basketball related workouts, of that 50 percent of the time their playing ball it is to stregthen weaknesses they both have and to continue to strenghten their beast modes. Also you all do realise that players spend hours(the smart ones anyway) watching tapes of their oppsing players so they know what moves they’re gonna make and how to play them radadarada etc. I live in Australia and I am amazed by the offensive skill-set of these guys so it doesn’t matter if you know what ‘moves’ a player is gonna make, you still have to stop them. Individual defense means nothing in the NBA you have to play as a team!… Let them workout togther it is a great thing :)

Hi Folks,
Competition is win lose on the court, not in “real” life.
Life is bigger than a “game.”
Basketball is not the ‘real’ “game.”.
The’ real’ “game” is life.
How one succeeds in the real “game,” – life – is an order of magnitude more substantive than how one succeeds in the ‘small’ game we refer to as basketball.
Mr. James and Mr. Durant have no obligation to satisfy fans nonsensical bloodlust.
Their primary obligation is to their families.
Basketball is how they earn a living.
Basketball is fleeting.
Life is durable.
Manuel Tomas

Didn’t they both train/workout/practice together during their Olympics run??? What’s the big deal?? Surely they’re both supremely confident of their perspective games to where it comes down to who wants it more….I see no decisive advantage going to either one. If anything , they just raised the level of intrigue if and when they meet up again in the Finals….and who wouldn’t love that??

Durant is now preparing to join Lebron, wade and Bosh.. I think LBJ persuaded Durant that he cannot win championship in OKC, the same thing Wade did persuaded Lebron and Bosh to join him in Miami. Lebron is afraid of LA Lakers now, that’s why they’re trying to get Durant. Lebron is so sure that the “not 1,2,3, 4 and the count goes on” will not happen anymore because of LA Lakers Big 5. Go LA Lakers = Champion 2012-2013…..

I honestly think it is smart for them to train together. They were learn moves together durring those training days. It helped them get stronger and helped them get to the finals so we could see that great series. They played there hearts in that. I mean that if Javale Magee And Amare can train with Hakeem LBJ should be able to train with Durantula . They both work hard and I applaud them of that.

MJ did this to soften his rivals up – he sort of befriended them while still keeping his killer instinct and because Ewing, Barkley etc were not as cold blooded as Jordan it hurt them when they competed. I think LBJ is doing this to Durant – he is at the top right now and has figured it all out, it can only help him to keep Durant close, act like his best buddy then come playoff time – its championship number 2, smart move by Lebron

Why is everyone making it such a big deal? They can’t have lives of their damn own? Sure they have a strong friendship outside of the court but when business goes down inside of the court it becomes an intense rivalry.

The Williams sisters played against each other a lot, even before their professional days as tennis players, and both of them made the best of it. They became successful in their own right, and they were regarded as the best players of the game. They never experienced such scrutiny when they practiced against each other to enhance their skills, unlike these two athletes who gradually became the faces of the league.

I think the English language should make a new word out of this: coopetition. Both of them are great competitors, (Durant and James), and I’m 100% sure that neither of them would root for the other when they face each other again in the Finals next season. However, as basketball players who played a lot against as well as with each other, I’m definitely sure they want the best out of one another, and that’s why they practice with nothing but the best.

I think it’s just ridiculous that the two stars from the nba finals are training together. Are you serious? Do you really think that MJ would go and try to train with say isiah thomas or some other player he had faced in the finals. HELL NO! This just shows that although they both might see this as a positive for them, it truly reflects that each does not possess a fierce fire to win and especially to be better than ARGUABLY best player in the nba, either lebron or KD. But again this might just reflect broader culture changes in the NBA, which has in turn effected change upon Lebron and Kevin. I know that in my day, the best player on the other team was someone you particularly did not like( you sure as hell wouldn’t go and train with him) and you did all you can to be beter than him, even if he was a nice guy, as both KD and Lebron are.

I hate people like Hoops4all, who say things in the game shouldn’t change like superstars training together or joining forces because jordan & magic didn’t do it, but guess what? The game will always change so get used to it!

i have many contradicting hopes for this season, at first i hope that a rematch of okc and miami for 2013 finals, but as KD as my 2nd favorite player in nba next to lebron, i don’t want to see KD losing to an nba finals again. but i want KD to demolish the lakers and prove that kobe’s playing time is over. however, now i wish a finals match between miami and lakers, so that lebron will own kobe. the bad thing about a finals match of miami and lakers is that it is a win win scenario for kobetard fans. if lakers win championship this 2013, it will be an exclamation point that kobe is better than lebron. while on the other hand, if miami beat the lakers, kobetard fans will say, kobe is not on he’s prime… blah blah blah.. lame excuses. but i see a repeat for miami. 2013 champs miami heat.

Since they’re obviously doing it already anyway, what difference does it make what we think about it? They don’t care what we think. I’m more surprised Lebron is training in Akron. Never thought he would be allowed to walk the streets in Ohio, where they did everything but burn him in effigy two years ago. He certainly has nerve…

lets not forget, the NBA is a business like any other. Friends and enemies may be competing on the same side or against one another on a regular basis to complete a common goal. In James’ and Durant’s cases, I believe there simply utilising one another’s skills to there disposal, to improve there individual games so they can be the best at what they do. It seems a very healthy relationship so far, so why should it be considered a bad thing? Its great for the NBA and entertainment of the millions of people across the world.

they have already worked out together in USA squad, so what is the big deal? In today’s league, everybody knows about everybodys’ strengths and weaknesses anyway. Nothing is a secret any more. It is about two competitors, probably working on their conditioning and motivating each other to get better. These kind of controversies are created artificially by the media and they are not newsworthy. It is very typical during the offseason, just like the stupid trade rumors. Reporters are just trying to show that they deserve their hard-earned salary :)

Of course they can! I always train with my buddy and he we push each other hard! Same thing when I do marathons with my dad, I think it means more when you are getting a push from someone that matters. They can set each other goals that they both can compete towards, and since they are both highly competitive, it can work. All in all, there is nothing to criticize about trying to Improve your game.

name of that song? also, rivalry is a fundamental element to almost all sports, its the main reason athletes aspire to be better, to out-do your competition. that said, whats the harm of training with the best if it yields the rewards?

You don’t hae a problem with it, because you’ve obviously never PLAYED basketball. I play professionally in Europe and have been for about 9 years and I cringe when I read this sort of thing because this is BAD for the game. Magic didnt call up Bird and say “Hey man, lets work out together” or Mike didn’t cal Barkley and say the same thing. It’s about being a champion ad a competitor. You don’t sleep and eat with your enemy……

Many top athleats train together, example Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake (2 of the fastest men on the plannet at the moment). When top athleats train together they usually get even better. Its good for the sport.

NBA players watch lots of film, so LBJ and KD already know each others moves, so “1 week” of playing together isn’t that bad.

I think worse can happen with both players making aliances off season being from different arsenals like for examlpe fixing levels of game friction when they meet each other for battle or we all could see one of the best battles in NBA this season

If I was LeBron I wouldn’t be as comfortable. I still remember 2008 USA Team where of course Kobe and LBJ practised together. Kobe’s gestures was absorbed by LBJ and was able to read and predict Kob’s play.

But yeah, they’re friends. No issues here. I’m sure they have something up on their sleeve when the time comes.

It’s very nice for those guys training together and it might hurt them a little bit in one-on-one situations in which both players know what they can expect from eachother, but in teamplay that’s totally different. These two guys can do allmost anything coming from every corner of the field, so I think they would like training together. The challenge will be greater than when they go head to head with teammates.

When you have to get your team going, this is no factor. I’ve played my whole life with my brother and a friend of mine and while we can challenge eachother in one-on-one situations and recognize the moves, in teamplay it’s totally different. In my case, I often have an advantage there for being a point guard and having the ability to determ the play. That’s why I think LeBron had the advantage in the finals; he can play the point and thereby determ what’s going to happen. Durant will always be depending on some teammates to set him up. He does great, but when the game is on the line, superstars like these two guys can do some serious damage when they are able to take control from the moment the ball is on the court. We’ve seen Magic do it, Jordan did it and Kobe kan do the same. Now LeBron has that edge.

Why does everything and everybody have to do with the lakers. Ya’ll need any more audience ? Everybody knows when you mention that team you gonna have like 95% of those morrons preaching their share without ANY IQ whatsoever. Lakers is not gonna win it and i already placed my bet of € 5000,- Please, stop including them in every single Blog or comment. When they lost to OKC we had a nice quiet period a few weeks. Now they all bragging all over the place AGAIN !!!!

Thats what happens when you are a franchise in decline…I’m surprised that Celtic fans aren’t jumping in here too…insert yourself in every conversation regardless of the topic. There is a permanent shift in the NBA with the 2 top teams in Miami and OKC…and the tactonic plates have shifted in Cali as well…Clippers r the new team in Hollywood!!! LOL

This is just blasphemy in my opinion. Im a basketball player my self, and in NO way would I want to train together with the best point guards in the country. Hell no. Im planning on destroying them on the court and accomplishing that by my own training routines, on my own or with a friend, but not with my direct competition. This is just something I dont understand. Stoudamire & McGee training together with Hakeem was different for me, cause these are two of the three best players in the game, who should be rivals. I dont like this whole friendship thing, its way too much friendliness and stuff….

I was going to rant at you, but I just realized that you probably had a traumatic childhood, having no friends to care for you. So all you probably did was bully or sulk your way through junior high and when you filled out, hit the courts and began “destroying” opponents. There is nothing wrong with being friends with the competition. If it helps, why not?

I don’t like this at all lebron has a history of making friends with other stars and then joining forces with them on one avengers like team. Wade is 30 and bosh is okay, lebron could be planning his next move already. After all he said he wanted to win like 9 championships. I don’t want to see kevin durant in a heat jersey like everybody else seems to be doing these days. I don’t like the trend of the top 15 players all in five teams.

Lakers Champs 2012-2013 ROFL!!! That’s BS!!! They’ll be lucky to even come out in the west semis. -.-
Proven teams like OKC and Spurs have the best chance. Even Clippers, Grizzlies and Mavs can surprise everyone. SMH. Lebron and KD can single handedly take care of this fancy team.

It’s them. Anything else would look contrived. I mean, no one told Bird and Magic to train together in summer, did they?
What really matters is on the court, anyway, and Durant and LBJ are second to none when it comes to that.

I actually did this at a highschool level. I became friends with the star from our biggest rival highschool. We had both gone to D1 schools and both gotten season ending injuries. We rehabed together, pushed each other hitting the weights and had some epic 1 on 1 battles. And then we both went to rival Juco schools lol. Absolutely nothing wrong with LBJ and Durantula learning from each other, it will make them want to compete even harder to prove they know how to use their teamates, and a good show for fans to watch the competetiveness .

Ofcourse they are rivlas because they will be battling yearly in the finals.
But LBJ gets the step ahead because KD will be just a scoring machine yes he’s a better defender now but when against LBJ, he’s always destroyed. Maybe KD can win one and be lucky like Magic and Bird. They take turns in their championships. But we will see if the core improves especially Westbrook. That boys got an F- I.Q. as i always say. But as i see Miami will be champions at least 3-4 more times because LBJ and Wade are both Kobe at that time.

Highly doubt they share their biggest secrets about their games, I’ve played basketball with my friends for 2-3 years now and every now and then, I would use a move on them that they rarely or do not see me use at all and they dont know how to react because the defence they had set up was for the moves I always use. Im sure LBJ and KD feel and does the same, so theres no need to worry.

Hey, the point is, THEY BOTH WOULD GET BETTER. A basketball games need 5 players on the court. It wouldn’t affect the team performance if they two work together (and it’s just ONE week). They’ll both improve their game and bring their team to the next level. They can hardly find a working partner that good. So they took this oppotunity of their friendship. It’s a great choice! With the Lakers & Spurs (west), the Knicks & Nets (east), Heat and Thunder really need their star player to improve as much as they can to carry their team to compete in the 2013 playoffs to even get to the NBA Finals. So it’s a great great move from two hardworking and smart starplayers who has the ability to think long term.

But in certain moments one man can take over a game. That’s why the are superstars that get paid more than the average. Kinda like having a HAXed player. Like the T-Mac Comeback, Jordan’s 6 three’s in a row, Kobe’s 81, LBJ’s game 6 vs the Celtics this year.

never ever make friends with your competition. Training together is different from that mind you. I mean if you’ve ever been on a team you’d have experienced competition within that team, cos nobody’s tryna lose their place or in this case, job, on the team. Hence, it should NEVER be done. Plus, I’m not too worried about Lebron, it’s KD I’m worried about. This friendship could soften him up towards Lebron. And he’s already a bit soft on him according to the last playoffs.

MIchael jordan Was very good friends with magic johnson, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, and many other players, and these were all Leading players he faced either in the playoffs or finals, what are you talking about.

But Jordan still went hard on them in games as if they weren’t friends, which Durant doesn’t have that within himself to do so like what happened in the finals no trash talk no nothing/argument. They had a friendly game of Basketball and the Heat stomped them in the end because of that. Kinda like taking candy from your little brother, you might have to wrestle for it but eventually you’ll get it. Durant is 23 Lebron is 28. Durant’s being duped by someone more physically gifted, older and more experienced than he is. Who is desperate to win and win and win again. Thunder aren’t going to win Championships for the next 4-5 years if this continues.

both of those comments are ignorant. Yes LBJ is highly gifted as a basketball player but saying this ONE week of practice is going to show LBJ all of KD’s weakness is riduclous. Remember that KD isnt someone to walk over anyways as you can see in the playoffs. Both are amazing bsketball players and this practice can only make both of there personal performace better.

I did not say ALL of KD’s weaknesses. I also know the fact that KD is one of the elite players around the league (2x scoring champion, regular season MVP runner-up), but LeBron as of the moment is the best player. He has played for 8 years already in the league, and his statistics (not to mention his individual awards) prove that he is capable of exploiting the weaknesses that he sees against ANY team (or in this particular case, KD). Furthermore, this one week of training for both guys will be more beneficiary to KD because all basketball fans know that KD is looking for a ring, one thing that LBJ just earned last season against KD’s OWN team. Think and read first before you react.

My buddy is a better basketball player than me and he destroys people on the court but he can’t do the same against me because I know all of his moves before he does them. It comes from practicing with him everyday.

If I were Lebron or Durant I would not want someone learning my moves like Dancing with the Stars…..

They trained together for a week in the 2011 offseason (see the reference for Hell Week II in the article). That was while they were waiting for the lockout to be lifted. Did one of them learn any moves from the other? Definitely. Challenged both of them to come up with new moves. And if one of them needs no moves, it would probably be James by simply being the awesome physical specimen that he is i.e. by being bigger, faster and stronger than the others. I don’t believe you know as much as about basketball as you make it known here in the comments.

What are you watching then? If you are talking about watching Durant walk in a hotel via CCTV, he really DON’T need moves. And your “other side” is definitely hell too. Did you watch LBJ in Game 6 against the Celtics? That’s LBJ as a streaky shooter, but the point is, he made his shot on different angles with different looks. Know your facts straight, dude.

1 week not bad, secrets wont b shared, jus motivation.. Imagine bill gates and steve jobs, 2 diff animals in the same industry that are hungry for more.. So who else is betta 2 give each other that challenge? I agree wit carl

How can you be aggressive on the court if you are Friends. How can you give an elbow or run someone over if you are friends. How can you try and intimidate the other one if you are Friends.? How can you be an enforcer on the court if you are Friends…..? It definitely changes the game one way or another. Either your going to concentrate too much on your FRIEND or you are going to go easy on him. It effects the game…

I play against friends all the time on the court, but when the game kicks into the real competative gear, friendships go out the window, especially in the NBA. Players mindsets are on winning not on which club they’re guna hit up after. Especially for the NBA Elite. Even though these two practice, come game time no one need worry. Elbows and all, they want to win!

Those 2 players don’t have a limited supply of moves. The “learning your opponent” does not come from learning the moves your opponent practices but rather from the moves your opponent is capable of, which comes from how hard he practices.
Neither Lebron nor KD’s offensive or defensive potency can be minimized by practicing with them. With all due respect to you and your friend, Lebron and KD aren’t amateurs who have 1 or 2 moves.
Finally, it’s just one week of practice together. It’s not going to make either of them less competitive with the other on the floor. Lakers fan who don’t see Kobe in the mention of this article are gonna hate…